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| The beach at
Strahan |
Strahan (including Macquarie Harbour,
Sarah Island and the Gordon River)
One of the loneliest and most isolated
outposts in Australia. A spectacularly beautiful
harbour at the end of the world.
Located 298 km west of Hobart and 41 km from
Queenstown, Strahan lies on the edge of the
unspoiled beauty of Macquarie Harbour. It is the
last outpost of civilisation on the west coast
and surely one of the loneliest places on earth.
The British invented this place as the
ultimate penal colony. Named after Governor
Lachlan Macquarie this 50 kilometres long
harbour opens to the sea through the narrow,
eddying waters of Hell's Gates and receives the
waters of the King and Gordon Rivers.
The first European to explore Macquarie
Harbour was James Kelly who, with four
companions, entered Hells Gate in December 1815.
It is interesting to note that when Kelly
entered Hells Gate he wrote 'The whole face of
the coast was on fire, lucky circumstance for
us. The smoke was so thick we could not see a
hundred yards ahead of the boat. On pulling into
the 'Narrows' at the small entrance island, we
heard a large number of natives shouting and
making a great noise as if they were hunting
kangaroo.'
These Aborigines had lived in the area for at
least 20,000 years. Tragically by about 1830
there were none left in the area although, in
recent times, the discovery of Kutikina Cave
near the Franklin River, has offered a rare
insight into their lifestyle 15,000 years ago.
James Kelly and his group spent three days
exploring the huge 285 square kilometre harbour
and it was on the basis of their descriptions of
the vast stands of trees that, within a year,
timber cutters had entered the harbour and were
cutting down the magnificent huon pines. It was
probably as early as 1816 that the brig Sophia
passed through Hells Gates. This was extremely
dangerous as the entrance to the harbour wasn't
properly surveyed until 1819.
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| Boats and
lobster pots in the harbour
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It was the huon pine, a superb fine-grained
wood which was ideal for shipbuilding, which
brought the first Europeans to the harbour. It
was huon pine which was also the cause for the
establishment of a penal colony at Sarah Island
in 1821. At that point a signal station was
established on Cape Sorell to ensure safe
traffic through Hells Gates.
The penal colony, known everywhere as one of
the most appalling and cruel of all the convict
stations, operated from Sarah Island. It finally
closed down in 1833 when the recidivists were
all removed to Port Arthur on the east coast.
The convicts worked on a nearby coal seam and
rowed across the harbour each day to cut down
the large stands of Huon pine which edged the
waters.
It was from here that the notorious convict
Alexander Pearce attempted to escape in 1822. In
a bizarre footnote to the history of the region
Pearce and seven other convicts attempted to
cross the island to Hobart where they hoped they
could catch a merchant ship and escape to some
ill-defined freedom.
They lost their way and in the ensuing weeks
all of the escapees disappeared except for
Pearce. When he was recaptured unproven
accusations of cannibalism were made against
him. The following year Pearce escaped again
accompanied by another convict, Thomas Cox. Once
again Pearce found himself without food and, to
solve the problem, he killed and ate Cox. When
he was finally recaptured Pearce admitted to
eating Cox and confessed to cannibalism during
his first escape. He was subsequently executed
in Hobart.
The township of Strahan wasn't really founded
until 1877. Prior to that the small port had
been variously known as Long Bay and Regatta
Point but in 1877 it became a vital port for the
tin mines at Mt Heemskirk. It was named after
Major George Strahan who was the Governor of
Tasmania from 1881-86. The town was officially
proclaimed in 1892, two years after the
government had constructed a railway from the
booming mining town of Zeehan. A railway line
from Queenstown was opened in 1899. Thus, at its
peak, during this mining boom, Strahan had a
population of over 2,000 people and was the
second busiest port in Tasmania.
The town continued to prosper as a major port
until the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960 the rail link
to Zeehan was closed down. Three years later the
same fate befell the Queenstown rail link (there
is still a remnant of the railway line on the
shore near Regatta Point) and in 1969 Mount
Lyell Co. started to send its ore by rail to
Burnie. The result was that while its importance
as a port declined the town became a major
tourist centre.
The major change in the area occurred when
the Tasmanian Government decided it wanted to
dam the Gordon River.
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| Travelling up
the Gordon River |
In 1983 the Federal Government, after an
extended period of environmental activism,
decided that the Gordon-below-Franklin Dam
proposed by the Tasmanian Hydro-Electricity
Authority would be stopped and that the whole
area, including the Aboriginal art in Fraser
Cave and the white waters of the dangerous
Franklin River, would be preserved under a World
Heritage order. The whole area is now known as
the Franklin Lower Gordon Wild Rivers National
Park and it attracts tourists from around the
world.
Things to see:
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Strahan
Strahan Wharf Centre
An ideal starting point for any visit to Strahan
and Macquarie Harbour. The reception desk is
built from Huon pine. The foyer is made from
river gravel. It also has an excellent and
comprehensive display recounting the story of
the Tasmanian west coast. Contact (03) 6471
7488.
Strahan Central
This building is now a cafe and gallery with
accommodation but for people who visited the
town a few years ago it will be remembered as
The Royal Ba-k of Avram, a project of the
self-titled Duke of Avram who, concerned that
the average citizen could not open his own bank
decided to open a gift shop selling coins and,
in order to avoid getting into trouble, called
it a Ba-k. He did not win. Eventually he was
closed down by the police.
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| The Strahan
Post Office and Customs Office
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The Strahan Post Office and Customs Office
This handsome building on the Esplanade is a
fine example of an early 20th century Customs
House. It was built to meet the demands of
Strahan as it became the major port for the
mining operations at Queenstown. It is a
two-storey brick building with stucco trim. It
now houses the National Parks and Wildlife
offices.
Ormiston
Located on Bay Street which runs off The
Esplanade. Follow The Esplanade to the west at
Strahan and it is quite impossible to miss. The
house was built by F.O. Henry, a successful
local storekeeper who made his fortune investing
in mining in the area, in 1902 and is one of the
finest examples of Federation architecture in
the country. The grounds around the building are
large and impressive, as are the beautiful
magnolia trees. It was once owned by the
so-called Duke of Avram who achieved some
notoriety in the area by opening 'The Royal Ba-k
of Avram'. It is apparently true that, in
Australia, you can't call yourself a bank unless
you are actually behaving like a bank. 'Duke of
Avram', who promoted the enterprise as
'Australia's most unique coinage and currency'
and sold tourists coins, notes and souvenir bank
books, was forced to call what was essentially a
gift and novelty shop a 'Ba-k'. He was
eventually closed down by the police. Ormiston
was bought by two Queenslanders who turned it
into a 5-star luxury guest house.
Peoples Park and Hogarth Falls
At the northernmost end of Strahan Harbour is
the People Park, a pleasant mixture of natural
forest and botanical gardens with picnic and
camping facilities. From here it is possible to
take a 30 minute walk (one way) to the Hogarth
Falls. The path passes through rainforest and
the trees have been clearly identified for those
interested in the botany of the area.
Water Tower Hill Lookout
Travelling up Esk Street past the cafe the
visitor arrives at Water Tower Hill which offers
an excellent view over Macquarie Harbour and
shows how small Strahan really is. It would be
beautiful on a sunny day - which is rather rare
on this harsh coast.
Ocean Beach
No visit to Strahan is complete without
travelling across to the ocean beach. If you
want to experience what the end of the world is
really like it is worthwhile standing on this
hard, flat beach watching the huge waves
relentlessly breaking and realising that those
waves, travelling on the Roaring Forties, have
not made contact with land between Australia and
Patagonia. At this point you are further south
than the Cape of Good Hope and on the same
latitude as the southern reaches of Patagonia.
Ocean Beach is 40 km long and the dunes behind
the beach, given the prevailing winds, are huge.
On a fine day the sunsets over the beach are
particularly beautiful.
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| The trip from
Strahan across Macquarie Harbour
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Macquarie Harbour
On a clear day Macquarie Harbour is like a
near-perfect mirror. Its waters are stained by
the brown button grass which grows on the river
banks and its shores are heavily wooded. It is
always worth remembering that, when the convicts
lived and worked here, it was common for them to
row from Sarah Island to the Gordon River, to
spend the day cutting down huon pines, and then
to row back. The harbour may look beautiful but
it has seen great hardship and suffering.
There are a number of cruises which leave
Strahan and travel across Macquarie Harbour and
up the lower reaches of the Gordon River. Some
will take visitors to Hells Gate, others go to
Sarah Island and others simply pass those
attractions and let passengers explore the
rainforest on the edge of the Gordon River. The
James Kelly travels most days of the year.
Contact (03) 6471 7187.
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| Hells Gate at
the mouth of Macquarie Harbour
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Hells Gate
Hells Gate was named by the convicts who came to
Macquarie Harbour. It neatly captures the
dangers of the narrow entrance as well as the
idea that this was beyond civilisation. It was
the entrance to one of the most isolated places
on earth.
Cape Sorell Lighthouse
With the development of the silver and zinc
mining fields at Zeehan in the 1890s, Strahan
and Macquarie Harbour became a major west coast
port. A lighthouse was constructed on Cape
Sorell in 1899. It stands 40 metres high and the
tower is 2.5 metres in diameter. It is now the
only structure still standing as the houses and
the engine room have been dismantled. It stands
where there was some form of signal station from
earliest times.
Sarah Island
In January 1822 a ship arrived in Macquarie
Harbour with 14 convicts, 16 soldiers and their
families. They established a convict station on
Sarah Island. This was an act of craziness as
the island had neither a regular water supply
(water had to be shipped 6 km from Phillips
Island each day) nor good soil. Nearby Grummet
Island was used to separate the female convicts
from the male convicts. The convicts lived in
cold and harsh conditions. As early as 1826 the
governor was realising that Sarah Island was
unsatisfactory. By 1834 the settlement had been
abandoned and a new penal settlement had been
established at Port Arthur. Today only the
remnants of the buildings are left but it is
possible (and there are some very informative
maps available) to see exactly where the
original buildings were.
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| A walk
through the rainforest on the edge of
the Gordon River |
The Gordon River
'This vanishing world is beautiful beyond our
dreams and contains in itself rewards and
gratifications never found in an artificial
landscape or man-made objects' wrote the great
photographer, Olegas Truchanas, who died in the
Gordon River in 1972. It is an accurate and
passionate description. To see the Gordon River,
and to walk through the dense temperate
rainforest on its banks, is to experience one of
the wonders of the world. It is so isolated, so
dark and gloomy, so totally removed from the
rest of the world.
Yet, in the late 1970s the Tasmanian Liberal
government did everything in its power to
destroy the area and to dam the Franklin River.
The plan was to build a 105 metre high dam on
the Gordon River 40 km from Macquarie Harbour.
The battle to save the river took place at
Warners Landing, 6 km from the junction of the
Franklin and Gordon Rivers. So passionate were
the protesters, and so aggressive were the
police, that in the summer of 1982-83 a total of
1272 people were arrested. It was the action of
the Hawke Federal Labor government and a
decision from the High Court in Canberra in 1983
which saved the river. The publicity lead to a
huge increase in tourism resulting in 90, 000
tourists a year by the early 1990s. As a result
of this the boat from Strahan became larger and
faster causing the Tasmanian Government to
restrict the speed up the river to 9 knots.
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| The
rainforest on the Gordon River
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Today it one of the triumphs of the
environmental movement and it is easy to see and
understand why they fought so passionately. It
is a unique piece of Australia. It was first
explored by Captain James Kelly in 1816 and
named after James Gordon who had given him the
whale boat which he used to explore the river.
